Silver Wings
by The Raven Dark Angel
Summary: Kagome studies in Hogwarts. Voldemort returns...in Sengoku Jidai. With a friend who has something to prove, she has to destroy Voldemort's last, desperate Horcrux AND try to pass her NEWTs at the same time. HBP Spoilers. IK Sess? NarakuOC
1. Gryffindor Celebrations and Slug Parties

**__**

SILVER WINGS__

by: The Raven Dark Angel

"AAAAND POTTER GETS THE GOLDEN SNITCH, BREAKING THE TIE WITH SLYTHERIN! A TRICKY MANEUVER, THAT! LIKE FATHER, LIKE DAUGHTER, I ALWAYS SAY! 160 POINTS TO GRYFFINDOR, AAAANNND SAY HELLO TO YOUR CHAMPIONS FOR THE SIXTH YEAR IN A ROW, GRYFFINDOR! Good show, Gryffindors! A far cry from the dismal showing during the match with Ravenclaw, but I suppose it hardly matters now—"

Amidst the boos of Slytherins, and the fierce scowls of the Quidditch players, the Gryffindor players whooped and hollered, joining the cheers of their counterparts in the grandstand. Even Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, who could not stand to see Slytherin win, expressed their relief by applauding loudly.

Seventeen year old Jessica Potter was mobbed on her broom by delirious teammates, and she thought fleetingly that she was about to go deaf, what with all the shouting and crying in her ear. The Golden Snitch beat uselessly against her clenched hand even as she was hugged, thumped on, and cried on. Caught in the moment of sheer joy and delirium, she joined in the celebration.

The sixth time in a row! Wiping at the tears of joy on her cheeks, she took the huge silver Quidditch Cup from the beaming Headmistress McGonagall, held it triumphantly up to the deafening roar of all the students in the stadium—with the exception of the Slytherins—and was promptly mobbed again, and this time she was joining them, laughing and crying. Scarlet rosettes fell all around them, and she felt her heart soar at the sight. _We've won!_

Everything else passed in a delirious blur for her, as she and the team were hoisted on the many shoulders of the equally ecstatic, cheering Gryffindors. She supposed that was why Dad loved Quidditch so much. The thrill of flying, of catching the Snitch, of _winning _six times in a row…

…

"Oh, we've won again, have we?" Higurashi Kagome asked absently, looking up from the script she had been working on to see Jessica blazing into the room like a mini-tornado, followed by the rambunctious lot of the other Quidditch players and students, who were chattering excitedly. Tim and Pete Weasley, the notorious, prank-loving twins who caused trouble more often than not, yelled for Butterbeer and food to celebrate.

"—the whole night, mate!"

"SIX times in a row--!"

"PARTAAAYYY!"

She watched in fascination as Charlie Thomas came up with a whole package of Wet-Start, No-Heat fireworks, courtesy of Tim and Pete's father, who still seemed to think that rules were meant to be dungbombed.

"Yeah!" Jessica crowed, her startling green eyes bright with joy. Kagome felt herself grinning along with her best friend, whose enthusiasm had always been infectious. "You should've been there, Kagome! I mean, there was this whole feint thing I did, and—and you should've seen how I grabbed that—"

"Wotcher, mate?" Lesley Spinnet thumped her on the back heartily and handed her a bottle of fizzing Butterbeer. The sound of fireworks resounded in the room, and brilliant sparks shot everywhere. "Come on, give us a blow-by-blow account of it, eh?"

As he steered her towards the fireplace where an eager crowd was already waiting, Jessica turned and yelled to her friend. "Come and join us, Kagome! GAH, geroff my neck, Spinnet!"

Despite herself, Kagome giggled. It was times like this where the Gryffindor common room blazed to life. It was as if a blanket of celebration had settled on the room, igniting everyone's excitement like a bushfire. Although she never really saw the point of Quidditch and vastly preferred to do other things than watch the matches, she couldn't help but feel excited for her best friend. Scriptwriting never really seemed so exciting when people were celebrating.

Deciding to put that off until the next day, she accepted the Butterbeer a gleeful Tim offered to her and joined the others at the fireplace.

…

Of course, lessons had resumed the next day—Slughorn was still smarmy, Trelawney was still as barmy as a bat in the daytime, and Snape was a lot more antagonistic to the students than usual, actually hexing Patricia Longbottom 'by accident' when she decided to tell her Hufflepuff friend Sherry Davies about the celebration that had gone on last night—but all the Gryffindors were still too immersed in their celebratory haze to really care.

"Oh, I can't believe I messed up the Jelly Legs jinx!" a frustrated Kagome ranted as soon as Snape released them with the instruction to submit two parchments on the merits of the uses of non-verbal commands by the next lesson, and a waspish command to Kagome to report to him for detention tomorrow. "I mean, I've never messed up before!" She dug into her bag and took out her copy of _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 6_ and flipped through it. "I followed the instructions, look!"

She shook her head, sighing. Instead of making Flora Brown's legs wobble, she'd made foot long tentacles sprout from her face. The poor girl had to be sent to Madam Pomfrey's hospital wing to be treated. The Slytherins had had a kick out of watching the whole thing, and were enacting the entire scene until the end of the lesson. It was humiliating.

"Malfoy must've messed up your spell again," Jessica pointed out. "I mean, he had his wand pointed out the same moment you did."

Before she could reply, however, the object of Jessica's statement strutted past, his pale, pointed face scrunched up in a pug-like sneer that—Jessica had heard her father mutter—looked so much like his father's it was unnerving. He was, as usual, flanked by two of his ever-present fangirls, who tittered and whispered among themselves.

"Heard Snape's going to need someone to dispose of all those dead Grindylows and Flobberworms in the cabinets. Good luck cleaning them out, Mudblood." Damien Malfoy paused deliberately, a mock-thoughtful look settling on his face. "Maybe you'll finally find something you're good at, for once."

The girls' tittering increased.

Kagome regarded him calmly. The undesirable nickname did not bother her so much anymore, and besides, she knew for a fact that Malfoy was nowhere near where she was academically.

Nowhere near anyone with a bit of brains, actually.

"For all your talk, you should really start trying to be better than a Mudblood in something, for once." Her glare was cold. "Makes one wonder which one's worse, innit? A Mudblood or someone consistently stupider than a Mudblood."

Turning on her heel, she turned to leave, her heart pounding. She'd just insulted Malfoy back! What she normally used to do was to ignore him or yell at him angrily, peeved that he'd actually said something like that, but today, it gave her a thrill that made her smile. She hated being mean, but people like Malfoy really deserved it. The term Mudblood was just so vile. So what if she had Muggle parents? It was not like it was a crime, right? Voldemort was gone, and no one was hunting Muggleborns and slaughtering them anymore. Unfortunately, though, even with the death of the Dark Lord, old prejudices—especially those of the aristocratic class—never really seemed to change.

"_Nice," _Jessica giggled as they resumed walking down the corridor that led directly to the Great Hall. "Did you see that shade of puce on Malfoy's face?"

Kagome shook her head, laughing lightly. "He had it coming. We've got to hurry, Jess, before the cauldron cakes all get wiped out!"

"Dobby makes great cauldron cakes," Jessica agreed eagerly, mouth watering at the prospect of the sweet treat. It had been awhile since they had appeared on the tables, and she'd been wondering where Dobby had gone to. The House Elf had kindly given Jessica a large bag of the treats for Christmas for six years now, which she greatly appreciated and had given him Gran's horrendously knitted sweaters in turn, which seemed to delight him.

"A pity he, like the other House Elves, didn't get paid." A voice muttered darkly beside them. The girls turned to see Emmeline Weasley, the studious cousin of Tim and Pete Weasley. Apparently, she was the first in the Weasley clan to be placed in Ravenclaw. The bushy-haired girl—who looked like her head was perpetually on fire because of the hereditary fire-engine red hair all Weasleys possessed—glowered darkly at the Great Hall. "Slave labour, that."

"Hello, Emmeline," Kagome greeted her with a broad smile, her inherently kind nature not allowing her to be unfriendly to anyone save for Malfoy. Jessica, on the other hand, didn't really bother. Emmeline had always been a strange and stand-offish one, the one she liked least out of all the Weasley children. Even though Emmeline was technically Jessica's cousin, Jessica still didn't see the need to get too close. The first few times of getting rudely rebuffed had been deterrent enough.

Emmeline, on the other hand, held out two badges. "Here. Will you two join?"

"Join?" Kagome echoed blankly, looking over at the badges. She saw the word _S.P.E.W, _decided that she was seeing things, and blinked, squinting at it.

"Spew?" Jessica asked, looking a little sick. "There's a throwing-up club?"

"Not _spew_," Emmeline replied, a tad impatiently. "S-P-E-W. Society for the Promotion of Elvish Welfare. It was the club Mother was in charge of during her days here. She gave me these pins."

"Elvish welfare?" Jessica was even more confused. House Elves were pretty happy with the way they were, weren't they? So what other welfare did they need?

"I've never heard of it." Kagome shook her head, thinking along the same lines with her friend. Being Muggle-born, she hadn't known about the existence of House Elves until she came here and Emmeline made her read _Hogwarts, a History._ But the few times she'd wandered down into the vast kitchens in search for food, she'd noted that the House Elves had never been happier. She had felt bad for them at first, until Dobby reassured her that they were perfectly happy here with things to do, and how would the school run without them around?

"Of course," the other girl replied, tossing her bushy mane haughtily. "It's _exclusive._"

"Oh." Kagome paused for a moment, then asked curiously. "Well then, who's in it?"

She hesitated for a moment, looking temporarily humbled. "Well…if the two of you join…three."

Jessica shook her head. "You don't seriously think we're going to walk around school with the word _spew_ on our fronts, do you?"

"It's S-P-E-W!" Emmeline shot back hotly, looking very affronted at the look on Jessica's face. "Don't you care about those Elves? Mother said that Elf enslavement goes back centuries, and _no one_ has done anything about it!"

Temporarily speechless, the two of them just stared at her.

Emmeline suddenly beamed—something that, quite frankly, freaked the duo out the most—and held out the badges to them. "Well? It takes two Sickles to join. And then we can spread the word! Jessica, you're the Captain of your Quidditch team, aren't you? Well, you can send the message out to your teammates, make them wear it as endorsement—"

"Uh," Jessica started, looking utterly horrified at the prospect of handing out _spew _badges to her members.

Kagome fought to keep from laughing at the look on Jessica's face. Not wanting to disappoint anyone, least of all someone who looked like she needed a good friend, she handed over her two Sickles amiably. What was the harm in joining something like this? It was for a good cause, anyway. Okay, so the name was strange, but still. At least Emmeline was happy. "All right, then. I'll join."

"Thanks," Emmeline said, a look of faint relief passing over her pretty features. Then she turned to Jessica expectantly. "Would you like to join, too?"

"She'll take one," Kagome nodded firmly. Jessica was her cousin, after all, and a little familial support never killed anyone.

"Thank you, Miss Dictator." Jessica replied sourly. Before either one of them could say anything else, though, a loud, smooth voice sounded. "Ahhh, Miss Potter, Miss Higurashi! Just the ladies I have been looking for!"

Upon recognizing the voice, Jessica slumped. _Out of the pan, into the fire. _The ancient Professor with his walrus moustache and whale-like potbelly sidled out to them and led the both of them away, all the while beaming happily. "Just where have you been, young ladies? You've been scuttling out of my classes so fast I couldn't even manage to have a word!"

"Uhm…was there anything you wanted, Professor Slughorn?" Kagome asked politely. The Professor was a little too...strange for anyone's liking, but at least he was pretty harmless.

Horace Slughorn tilted his head amicably at the giant doors of the Great Hall. "Going for dinner, then?"

"Yeah, Professor." Jessica replied politely, dreading what he was about to say very much. The walrus-like man had pounced on the pair of them ever since they stepped into the gates of Hogwarts in their first year, and had subjected them to the asinine little 'parties' he always held. It wasn't until a year ago that Jessica had actually succeeded in not going—being made Captain of the Quidditch team had it's perks, which she gleefully utilized, conveniently scheduling practice whenever he announced his little parties. She'd been able to dodge all his invitations so far this year, which was quite a feat, considering how eager he was for her to sit in.

She supposed the daughter of the great Harry Potter deserved quite a mention, or something. It wasn't altogether bad, though. She liked the crystallized pineapple he would slip to her occasionally, though. Unfortunately that was the only perk.

"Well!" Slughorn seemed to wobble all over as he bobbed his head. "What do you ladies say to dining with me in my rooms? I'm having a little party there with the fourth years. Marvelous Miss Arabella Zabini, Poppins, and I believe Jessica, you know fiery little Catherine Scrimgeour, daughter of the Minister for Magic?"

She hesitated. "We're not exactly friends."

That was an understatement. Her father detested the upper echelons of the Ministry with a passion, and would have nothing to do with them at all if he could help it. Jessica supposed it was something about the Ministry mocking him and undermining his credibility during the great Wizard War. Then when he had defeated Voldemort, they all had come to ask him to join their ranks. Faith in the Ministry of Magic had, apparently, waned to dangerous levels and they had needed all the help they could get. He had declined, and it was crystal clear that the Ministry had not forgiven her father for that slight.

Nor had he, for that matter.

Slughorn winked at her knowingly. "Your father's influence, eh? Always thought you took after him more than your mother. Personality-wise, of course. You have your mother's face." He laughed. "No matter, you could always get acquainted with the lovely girl. She's a little spitfire, of course, but nothing a little Butterbeer wouldn't sooth. Dear Harry wouldn't mind if you made a friend or two in the Ministry, does he? He's got friends in very high places too, after all. One of the best boys I've ever had the pleasure of knowing, really. His bravery, his talent, that famous scar that sets him apart—"

"Er…I'm sorry, Professor." Jessica interrupted. Personally, she wondered why the Professor felt the need to emphasize her father's name in front of her whenever he could. It was all-too-annoying. So what if she was the daughter of The-Boy-Who-Lived? It was not like she was actually there when he killed Voldemort, or did anything, or really wanted to get a blow-by-blow account of what really went on in the last battle.

And did he have to look so…orgasmic while he was talking about her dad? "I'm—holding Quidditch practice later."

__

Liar, Kagome mouthed accusingly to Jessica when the Professor was not looking.

Slughorn's face fell visibly. "Another practice? Oh dear, it seems like I am always catching you at the wrong time, Miss Potter!"

"Er…yeah."

Turning to Kagome, he smiled eagerly. "What about you, lovely girl? Will you join us?"

Kagome racked her brains for an excuse, but came up with none that was remotely believable. Darn, she hated being so honest. "I…suppose I will, Professor Slughorn."

She hated his little tea party sessions with a passion, because all he seemed to be doing was to ask them about their family's backgrounds, what they wanted to do, or simply introduce them to someone else. Kagome had been given contacts of various people in the Ministry because according to Slughorn, she had a lot of 'potential' and would go very far in life. The typical sort of things one would like to hear, but not in such abundance. She shuddered as she contemplated the fact that her name would be spilled off his lips to the next batch of unknowing wizards and witches who had 'potential', and he would be acting like he was her mentor and she owed everything to him or something.

Not that Slughorn was bad, really. But the way he gathered contacts and made sure that almost everyone who was going to be famous and/or powerful knew him was just…unsettling. The blatant show of favoritism was what made her uneasy, Kagome being a person who was fair and had expected others to be the same.

"Excellent." He smiled, showing slightly yellowed teeth. "I shall see you in ten minutes, then?"

There really was no way to get out of this. Nodding, Kagome forced a smile. "See you, Professor Slughorn."

The Professor patted Jessica affectionately on the shoulder. "Send my fondest regards to your beautiful mother, Jessica. She did make the most effective Bat Bogey Hexes, and taught young Malfoy quite a lesson, if I remember correctly. She was always quite talented with hexes, the cheeky little girl!"

He left, still chuckling to himself.

"Bat Bogey Hexes?" Kagome repeated to Jessica blankly. She'd never mentioned anything about it.

Jessica rubbed her face, looking thoroughly embarrassed. "Something Mum did when she was a student here. _Don't ask._"

"Anyway," Kagome went on, her tone admonishing. "That was a really dishonest thing you did back there. The annual Quidditch matches are over; you guys don't even have to practice so much any more! What if he finds out that you lied to him?" She paused for a moment and glared at her best friend. "And you could help get _me _get off the hook, too!"

"You got _me_ into Spew" Jessica pointed out sulkily.

"It's S-P-E-W," Kagome corrected. Quite frankly, she'd already forgotten what it meant. All she remembered from that little speech Emmeline had given was that it was a club for freeing elves. Or something.

"Whatever." Jessica shrugged, then cheered up considerably as she glanced towards the Great Hall. "Anyway, I've got to go."

"What? Where?"

Jessica winked at her mischievously before leaving. "Thing about being Captain is that you can call for practice whenever you want. So technically I'm not lying."

"Oh, _you!_"

Jessica's parting words floated back to her over the familiar swishing of her black school robe. "And if my team gets forced to wear 'spew' on their chests, I'm going to tell them it's your fault, 'gome."

"Speaking of fault," Kagome raised her voice slightly so that Jessica could hear. "We're due tonight. You-know-who's going to pitch a fit if we're back late."

Jessica simply gave her a wave, and disappeared into the dining chaos of the Great Hall.

Sighing, Kagome started walking down the mostly deserted corridor, dreading Slughorn's little dinner party and the disgusting crystallized pineapples he was most surely bound to be eating in abundance. Why he actually liked practically inhaling them was far beyond her. Oh well. At least maybe he would be too busy eating to talk her ear off about people that he knew and to drop all-too-obvious hints of what he could do for her if only she asked. She thought about it for a moment. Nah, Slughorn would never be too busy to talk about the people he had 'helped', and describe, in full detail, how he had done it, and what presents he had gotten as a reward for his…services.

__

I wonder who they're from this time? She wondered to herself, adjusting her bag and avoiding an almost head-on collision with a small knot of giggling Hufflepuff second-years.

…

****

AN: This is technically an AU, and I used the first chapter to set up the atmosphere of Hogwarts. And if you look closely enough, the conversation between Emmeline and the girls are vaguely familiar, yes? And no, I've not copied them. I deliberately put it in there for kicks. SPEW is still fondly remembered even after 27 years. Anyway, what do you think so far? Inuyasha and the others will come in the next chapter, I promise! I had wanted to put Jessica as a kind of Squib or something, thereby ensuring a whole well of issues to deal with, but then again, she's going to need a few skills so she doesn't get killed by rampaging youkai. And the point of Kagome in Hogwarts is to ensure that she's not completely helpless, innit?


	2. Back To The Old World

**__**

SILVER WINGS__

by: The Raven Dark Angel

Chapter Two: Back To The Old World

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, yadda, yadda, yadda. You know the drill.

…

"Honestly, Jessie! Couldn't you walk a little faster?" Kagome hissed as quietly as she could, keeping an eye out for Filch and his creepy cat Mrs. Norris, the two little spots Jessica had seen moving around in the adjacent corridors on the Marauder's Map,

It was an extraordinary something Jessica had nicked from her mum's cupboard two years ago, after hearing Uncle Fred and Uncle George going on and on about how they had used it back in their innocent, carefree, mischievous days. She didn't exactly know what the Marauder's Map really was, but hadn't bothered too much about it. Nothing that helpful and remarkable could be evil, could it?

And if Uncle Fred and Uncle George used it without much trouble, then there wasn't anything to worry about. All one had to do was just tap on the map and say _"I solemnly swear I am up to no good." _Once you were done with it, a quick tap on the map, a short "_Mischief managed!" _would do the trick, and it would be no different from an ordinary piece of parchment.

Mum still hadn't known that it was missing, which was a good thing, since they needed all the chances they could to sneak out to Hogsmeade to stock up on supplies.

And speaking of sneaking, Argus Filch's cat seemed to have a sort of sixth sense about things, and even though they were both under Jessie's Invisibility Cloak, it still seemed like the cat could see through to them.

Once she meowed, they were busted.

"Hush!" Jessie snapped, cocking her head slightly to the side. Peeves' maniacal laughter bounced off the walls of the armor room that was just directly above them, and he could float down at any time. Peeves, having a little knowledge of Invisibility Cloaks, especially so when her father had been in school, would surely hear them and report them immediately. Three weeks of detention in the Headmistress's classroom was not a pleasant experience.

To add to that, Jessica could just imagine the look on Inuyasha's face when he found out they wouldn't be back for three weeks. The last time they had exams, the hanyou got so pissed he came out after them and promptly got stuck in the Room of Requirement. Luckily the Room only allowed the two of them inside, and so he had been undiscovered. If he had, there would be hell to pay.

Kagome's backpack jabbed into Jessica's side when she half-turned—for the umpteenth time—to see if anyone was following them, obviously having not gotten quite used to the advantages of having an Invisibility Cloak.

"Don't be daft, 'gome, no one's following us." Jessica said quietly as they passed by the portrait of Barnabas the Barmy for the second time. She had been satisfied to see that Filch and his cat had already left in the direction of the Slytherin common room, and that Peeves had finally moved on to a bunch of empty classrooms. "And concentrate."

"I'm concentrating!" She was pretty desperately wishing for the Room of Requirement to appear; the corridors of Hogwarts gave her the creeps. It was as if the shadows themselves were watching you. And if one listened closely, soft slithering sounds could still be heard within the walls. She'd heard the story about Jessica's father and the Chamber of Secrets, and how he faced down the Basilisk with only Fawkes, a phoenix loyal to Headmaster Dumbledore—the previous Headmaster of Hogwarts—and the Sorting Hat. The information had been skimpy, and Jessica pointedly refused to elaborate on the story, not having the slightest interest in anything that involved her father.

She supposed it was because he was hardly around. From what Kagome had heard, he had always been in some exotic country doing Merlin-knew-what, thereby failing to be there for the most important moments of his daughter's life. It seemed like Jessie had always hated him for that. Oh, he wrote scads and scads of letters, and had sent her different postcards from various places Kagome had never even seen before.

But those letters and postcards had always been returned unopened.

"'gome," Jessica began again, annoyed, when her best friend's enormous yellow backpack bopped her smartly on the side of the head. "What did you put in there? The Giant Squid?"

Kagome scowled at her. "I'll have you know, Jessica, most of the stuff inside this bag is _yours._ And besides, if I packed a squid inside, it would be a bit wet, don't you think?"

"Oh. Sorry."

"Did we really need the pocket Sneakoscope, though?" she wrinkled her nose. Useful though it was, she hated it when the thing started making it's shrill noise. The darned thing was loud enough to wake the dead, if you asked her.

"Yeah. What if Miroku gets lured in by some pretty woman again? Sango's going to kill him."

"Don't you mean pretty youkai woman?"

Her eyes twinkled with humor. "No. Woman. I charmed the Sneakoscope a little…" she winced as she reminisced. "and almost went deaf in one ear. Never knew the blasted thing could make such a piercing sound."

She thought about it a moment. Hmm, she had a point. Sango would be glad for that. "Right."

"And," Jessica began, feeling the need to defend her choices. "We need that Instant Darkness Powder if we want to run away, and we might need all the other stuff in case something happens."

Uncle Fred had so kindly given the stuff she needed without charging, owing to the fact that her dad had given them a considerable amount of start-up Galleons to open the widely-successful Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. She'd felt a little bad for taking a little of everything. Thought it seemed a good idea at the time to nick a few Ton-Tongue Toffees, Fake Wands and Canary Creams just in case, she was seriously doubting it's uses. What was she expecting to do to Naraku, turn him into a bird? At least Extendable Ears and Dungbombs had their uses.

You could listen in on any private conversation you liked while being a good distance away—since none of the people in this era knew how to cast an Imperturbable Charm, and you threw Dungbombs at Inuyasha if he was being a bigger jerk than usual. The sheer stench of it would knock him out for hours. Not that anyone actually tried, of course, but Jessica and Kagome had discussed the merits of the Dungbomb as opposed to the 'Osuwari'.

"What I don't get is, why can't you carry them yourself?" she demanded.

"Because the bloody git Nott whacked me a good one on the back when I wasn't looking!" Fingering the egg-sized bruise right smack in the middle of her spine, she scowled. What had originally been a normal practice session had turned into an impromptu match between both Slytherin and Gryffindor players, the former being the one who had tried to muscle their way to the field and drive them out.

The only way to settle it had been a match. Winner took the field.

Of course, it had been too much to expect that the Slytherins would actually play fair, and without Madam Hooch around, things had gotten very ugly very quickly.

"Ouch," Kagome said sympathetically. Quidditch, to her, had always been a boy's game, and for the hundredth time, she wondered what Jessica saw in it. What was so exciting in chasing after a little flying ball, or shooting large balls through the hoops? People got hurt more often than she would have liked, all for just a few points. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Send a little Soothing Spell there, would you?" Jessica grinned, glad that she had asked. "Can't aim properly, and I wouldn't want to blow a buttock off. You know how I get with spells when I'm in pain."

Kagome briefly wondered if there was anyone in the world who walked around with only one buttock, then shook her head. "Oh, all right."

"Ahhh, much better. Cheers, 'gome."

The third time they walked past Barnabas the Barmy with his trolls, the door to the Room appeared. Crossing their fingers and hoping that this was the Room they needed, the girls were relieved when they saw the well, sitting serenely in the middle of the bare room.

"This is it," Kagome muttered, closing the door behind them as Jessica tucked her Invisibility Cloak neatly into her school robes. For how long they were going to be in the Sengoku Jidai was anyone's guess, but at least they didn't have to worry about their long absences. Determinedly trying hard not to notice the two shadows that sped across out of the corner of her eye, she patted the miniscule Time Turner that hung comfortably on her necklace, together with the small bottle containing the Shikon Shards. She'd charmed the Time Turner so that it would not break or be stolen, and had wanted to do the same to the shards, too, only she had met with a fierce resistance. Obviously the shards did not like to be bewitched.

Maybe if they did, Kikyou would not be able to get them as easily as she did, then. She had been surprised—and maybe just a little jealous—when Inuyasha told her they could just find more shards. She had wondered, if it hadn't been _Kikyou_ who had snatched the shards away from her, would his reaction have been the same? The other, larger part of her did not want to know the answer. And she had understood why.

The Illusionary Forest had given her a glimpse into her own heart, the heart that had already belonged to Inuyasha. Her nightmare, her greatest fear had been to see Inuyasha going back to Kikyou's arms.

And of course, it came true when she had stumbled upon them in the forest weeks later. He had drawn her into a lover's embrace, and her heart had broken then.

It was then that she had realized that she was in love with him. It was also the answer to why seeing him hurt by Kikyou had affected her so much. But then again, so what if she was in love with him? He was obviously still hung up over Kikyou and what had happened to them. In a relationship that had no true closure, she supposed she couldn't blame him for behaving the way he did. She couldn't even blame Kikyou, either. She had been a victim of Naraku, just like Inuyasha had been. But still…just because she had no real right to object or stop him from seeing her, did it mean that she had no real right to have her feelings hurt, too?

Shaking her head to clear her suddenly sad thoughts, Kagome exhaled noisily and turned to see if Jessica was behind her.

Jessica muttered under her breath as Kagome's backpack collided accidentally into her skull again. "Oh, _honestly!_" Whipping out her wand, she barked peevishly. "_Reducio_!"

She noted, with wide-eyed pride, that the infernal backpack actually shrank a lot in size. In all honesty, she hadn't expected it to work.

"Now, why haven't you done that before?" Kagome asked, impressed. At least it wasn't such an eye-catching thing anymore. Carrying something that resembled a mountain on your back was _not _fun. Deciding that telling Kagome the truth about how her backpack was used as a test subject was not the way to a long and healthy life, Jessica simply shrugged and perched on the edge of the well.

"Coming?"

Kagome quickly prayed to the gods to let them come back in one piece and alive, then joined her friend at the well. Taking a deep breath, they leapt.

The blue light swallowed them whole.

…

"You're late!" Inuyasha snapped irritably as soon as the girls climbed out of the well. Apparently, he had been squatting next to the well, impatiently waiting for them to show up.

"It's nice to see you too, Inuyasha," Kagome replied archly as Shippou scampered up excitedly to them. The fox kit, she noted with amusement, looked a little muddied around the edges. Inuyasha must've roughed him up a little.

Kagome frowned at Inuyasha, disapproving. "Did you bully Shippou again?"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest, looking very much like a petulant little boy. He was happy that she was back here, but being the person that he was, needed the mask of annoyance to hide his real feelings. And then there was the fact that they were really late. "Keh! Don't blame me, wench. The runt asked for it!"

"Kagome, Jessica!" he trilled excitedly, leaping into Kagome's arms. Although he liked the two girls, Kagome was the one who really had his heart. He had long thought of her as his mother, and had been miserable whenever she had to go back to her time.

"Did you get me anything, Kagome? Did you? Did you?"

He peered over her shoulder and frowned quizzically. "Why is your bag so small?"

"Lady Kagome, Jessica," Miroku greeted pleasantly as he and Sango ambled up to them. It looked as though the two had been on a long and pleasant stroll. Doing what else, she wasn't sure she wanted to know.

Jessica nodded her greeting to her friends even as Kagome cuddled Shippou close and excitedly queried Inuyasha on where they were going next.

She had beat Inuyasha to digging into Kagome's backpack, at least, removing her own satchel from the pack and slinging it across her shoulder so that he didn't rummage through them and accidentally ignite something. She winced as the strap rapped smartly against her bruise, then rummaged around for the Sneakoscope.

"Ah, here it is!" Jessica cheered brightly, holding up the toylike top and getting everyone's attention at the same time.

Inuyasha squinted. "What's that?"

Beaming, she handed it to Miroku. "Here, something special for you."

"How come Miroku gets a toy?" Shippou asked jealously. "Jessica, I want a top, too!"

Kagome smiled patiently, rubbing his head in an affectionate manner. "It's not a toy, Shippou."

Miroku, for one, was studying the object in fascination, turning it this way and that, trying to see how it worked. Inuyasha, his curiosity piqued, had also wandered over to see what it could do. It simply sat in his palm. Finally, he looked up at a pleased Jessica quizzically, briefly wondering if she had lost her mind. "What is it, Jessica?"

"It's a pocket Sneakoscope!"

"A—what?"

"A Sneakoscope," Kagome explained. "It's something from our world. Since Jessie and I feel that you're always getting into trouble with youkai women who are trying to kill you, we decided to give you this. It lights up, spins, and makes this annoying whistling sound whenever pretty wo-youkai women are around."

At the monk's suddenly bright eyes, Jessica elbowed her friend and hastily added, "Pretty, _untrustworthy_ women." Kagome really didn't know the slightest bit about lying.

He looked down at the top, apparently disappointed. "Oh."

Well technically, that wasn't true. Jessica had charmed it so that it reacted to the presence of any pretty women Miroku might have taken a liking to. It was pretty much useless in all other fields of dishonesty and untrustworthiness.

"Does that mean that I can pursue those whom the…top does not light up for?"

"Yeah," Kagome said brightly, and Sango scowled. Wasn't the delinquent monk perverted enough? And now they had to encourage him? She decided not to say a thing, but felt herself relax a little when she caught sight of Jessica winking at her. Oh-ho, so she had _something _she wasn't telling him. And from the looks of it, Kagome wasn't about to tell him, either.

Hiding a smile, she crossed her arms over her chest and tried to look threatening. "Houshi-sama…"

Miroku blanched. He knew that tone of voice anywhere. And if he didn't want a Hiraikotsu to the cranium, he had better get off this subject.

Slipping the Pocket Sneakoscope into the sleeve of his robe, he bowed slightly. "Thank you for the lovely gift, ladies. Rest assured that I will heed it's directions."

"You're welcome, Miroku," Kagome replied sweetly, hand clamped over Jessica's mouth, whose face was purple from valiantly keeping in her laughter.

Inuyasha, however, had already grown bored with the conversation and had dug out two cups of his favourite ramen eagerly. "I'm hungry, wench. We'll camp here tonight, and we head north tomorrow morning. There are rumors of a youkai holding a Shikon shard there."

"All right, then." Kagome agreed with a smile. She was so glad to be around him again that she didn't even bother to be pissed at his tone. She took the two cups of ramen he held out to her and was pleased to see that the firewood had already been arranged for her. With a simple flick of her wand, she muttered, _"Incendio!"_

The fire burst to life, burning as though it had been merrily doing so for ages. Kagome was also pleased to note that at least Inuyasha had taken the initiative to get water from the well for boiling. Placing the kettle over the fire, she watched as Jessica lazily flicked her wand over the ramen cups that were sitting on the grass. Since she was already seventeen and had the right to use magic outside Hogwarts, she had never failed to see the need to use it every opportunity she got.

In unison, the ramen cups were stripped of their plastic wrappings, the aluminum covering the cups peeled open like happy clams. The individual sachets danced above their respective cups, pouring their contents into them before joining the plastic wrappings and aluminum coverings in a small heap on the ground.

Jessica flicked her wand again. _"Evanesco!"_

The rubbish promptly vanished.

Kagome, being the only one who was not impressed by the grand display—it was something that had been shown a few times before, though it seemed like none of them could get enough of it—simply smiled and poked Jessica in the rib. "You are such a show-off."

She grinned. "I make do. Not all of us are powerful priestesses, you know." It had been quite a shock to find out that Kagome was actually a priestess charged with guarding the Shikon jewel. In her world, they were a different level of witches altogether, for none of the normal witches and wizards could ever purify anything.

Shippou cheered and held out his Pocky box—yet another Muggle brand of food Kagome had always insisted on getting—to Jessica eagerly. "Can you open this too? Can you? Can you?"

Kirara mewed, sniffing at the harmless looking ramen cups suspiciously.

"Sure!" Jessica said cheerfully, and proceeded to entertain the kit some more. Kirara mewed again, this time opting to stay beside Shippou to watch the show.

It was only on rare occasions that they could have relaxed moments like this, Kagome realized. For the moment, Naraku had been pushed to the very backs of their minds. Of course, he lingered constantly over them like a shadow, but in the light of the fire, even shadows disappeared.

__

How I wish moments like this could last forever, Kagome sighed wistfully as she caught sight of Sango laughing softly. Kirara had taken it into her head to try to pounce on Shippou, thanks to the little bit of paper that danced merrily on his head. Jessica giggled as the cute twosome gambolled around playfully. Jessica, ever ready to join in the fun, made multi-colored wizard bubbles come out of her wand. The bubbles changed shape even as they floated around, changing from a little kitten to a star to even a banana. Of course, these bubbles had their specialty. Every time you touched one and it burst, your favorite sweet would appear. Kagome had modified the spell slightly to suit Kirara, too, so whenever she burst one, a cat treat would be waiting for her.

Even the dark shadows in Miroku's eyes had lifted slightly as he surveyed the scene. Shippou and Kirara had begun fiercely chasing the happily floating bubbles, trying to get their treats while Jessica laughed and cheered them on.

"Keh," Inuyasha snorted from beside her. "That wench needs to grow up. She's a little too old to be playing with kids." Despite his gruff tone, however, Kagome could see his hidden amusement. It was the minutest of shifts, but she sensed that the tension that had always been present in Inuyasha had eased somewhat. He looked a tad bit more relaxed now, his eyes catching the glow of the fire, turning it into a dazzling, breathtaking gold. _Merlin,_ Kagome thought dazedly, taken aback by his profile, his angled in a way that it emphasized his youthful good looks, perfectly formed lips, and those eyes… _Everything about him is breathtaking._

When he turned his eyes on her, she felt her heart skip several beats. She knew that Inuyasha was attractive and very good-looking, but not _this_ good-looking. Not _this_ desirable.

__

I wonder…I wonder what he Frenches like? She thought before she could stop herself. _Would he be a passionate lover? Would he…_

The object of her thoughts peered at her curiously, taken aback by the strange intensity of her normally gentle brown eyes, and the sudden spike of…_something _in her scent. "Kagome?" he waved a hand in front of her face slowly. "Kagome? Oi, are you listening?" She seemed to be fixated on his face, and he briefly wondered what it was she was thinking before she shook her head vigorously and muttered to herself.

Curious, Inuyasha tilted his head towards her, frowning. "What are you thinking about, wench?"

Sometimes, it was possible for him to know what she was thinking about, and he hoped that this time wasn't about him and Kikyou. Or Kikyou. He knew very well how she felt for him, and had been taken aback when he realized that she was actually jealous. Despite that, however, it had been a mark of Kagome's true character when she helped save Kikyou time and again.

He loved her for—amidst other things—that. She had a beautiful soul, so much like Kikyou's, and yet so different. She had willingly stayed by his side no matter what happened, and he had appreciated it, though he would rather hug Sesshoumaru than admit that to her. But Kikyou…he had to make amends, he had to make closure, and that was why he could not really move on. Not yet. Did Kagome understand? Had she considered this? Maybe he should have told her, so she did not look so hurt anymore whenever he went to Kikyou's side and why the hell was he thinking about all these things?

"N-n-nothing!" Her voice came out as a high-pitched squeak when she realized that he was staring at her closely. Kagome fought the overwhelming urge to get the Instant-Swamp from Jessica and proceed to off herself. Inuyasha wasn't that stupid, he would know something was going on! And from the way she was staring at him…

__

Bad Kagome! Bad, bad!

Inuyasha was about to ask her about her entirely-too-strange behavior when something about her caught his eye. Something he was very sure was not caused by the heat of the fire, since it closely resembled the bright red of his fire-rat haori.

Kagome was…blushing?

And why the hell was his face heating up, too?

…

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AN: What did you think of this chapter? Leave me a message and tell me what you think!

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Blood-Debt: LOL, thanks a lot for your kind review. And yep, you guessed right! The well's in the Room of Requirement. Strange, eh? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this story!

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DarkAngelPearl: Hey there. I played around with this story for a while before penning it. I hope you like it!


	3. The Firebolt, the Snake, and the Spider

…

It was just another day.

A monster that looked like it was all made up of gigantic tentacles was wildly trashing around, demanding for—surprise, surprise—the Shikon Shards at the base of Kagome's neck. Inuyasha, Sango, and Miroku worked the thing over, and it was still back for more.

"It's got to have a weakness!" Kagome shouted up to Jessica, who was circling the thing lazily on her brand new Firebolt Six Sixty.

"I know!" Jessica replied testily, keeping well out of reach of the tentacles. She had refused to go any lower, the Firebolt Six Sixty being the extension of her soul and—according to her—the sole reason for living. The latest, fastest broom to hit the shops, it's sheer magnificence and specifics put the other brooms to shame, including it's predecessors. Though unbreakable and unscratchable, Jessica had been reluctant to test out just _how _unscratchable it was. "I'm looking for it, aren't I?"

"Go lower!" Shippou called out. "It might be something really teeny!"

Deciding that the fox kit was probably right, Jessica sighed. Obeying the slight body movement from its mistress, the Firebolt Six Sixty whizzed downwards. Easily ducking the slate-gray tentacles that moved to slap her off her broom, Jessica squinted, and thought that it was not unlike searching for the Snitch in a pitch full of very angry Slytherin players.

And then she saw it. But even as that thin tentacle shifted to impede her view, Jessica recognized what she had seen. It had been visible for only a second, but she had already cottoned on. Granted, it was pretty puny, but it was there. And exposed. Protected only by those hideously thin tenta—

__

Smack!

In her distraction, one of the blasted thin tentacles hit her straight on, breaking her nose and sending blood spattering everywhere. She cried out as pain exploded in her face, and fought to keep her balance. Wiping the blood off with the back of her hand, she swerved out of the way of a larger tentacle, exceedingly pleased with herself despite the pain.

__

Got you, you ugly little bugger.

"Kagobe! Fouddit!" Nose throbbing hard, she felt herself tear up from the agony. Darn it. It was like getting hit by a Beater's club.

Despite the looming danger, however, Kagome whipped out her wand as she neared, pointed, and chanted a spell.

The pain was gone. And from the smell of it, so was the blood.

"Thanks," Jessica said, automatically feeling her nose. It felt normal. She landed next to Kagome, already on to her next thought. Inuyasha was getting more and more pissed by the second. The monster had been a remarkable one, being this resilient even _without_ any Shikon Shards. "Get on, hurry!"

Slipping her wand back into her pocket, she grabbed her bow and arrows and hopped on. Jessica scooted forward a little to give her more space, and also because she didn't want to get an arrowhead in the eye.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome shouted as Jessica started forward. "Distract him a little longer!"

Inuyasha scowled up from where had been skirting away from the tentacles, aghast. "_Distract _him!" Was that what she thought he had been doing?

Kagome had no time for this. There was a reason why Firebolts were only meant for Quidditch players; they only held one person. As agile and fast as the Firebolt Six Sixty was, she knew that it would be greatly hampered by the extra, suddenly distributed weight. If tentacles were to go for them now, not even Harry Potter himself could dodge it. "JUST DO IT!"

"Shippou's right. It's tiny." Jessica remarked as they rose higher and higher. Not as fast as she would have liked, but making good time just the same. Sango, who knew what they were about to do, steered Kirara closer to make sure it was fully distracted. The two girls might be the least useful of the group when it came to fighting youkai, but they held their own.

"There." Jessica pointed as the thin bunch of tentacles raised themselves up to try to knock the fire-cat out of the air. It was most obviously threatened by their presence. "Standard defence mechanism. Attack anything that protects important stuff."

Kagome squinted. How could a monster that huge have something that _teeny? _"Wow."

"Gives a whole new meaning to the term pea brain."

Loading her bow, she pulled the string taut, preparing to aim. "Are you sure it's even a brain?"

"Got close enough to take a look, didn't I?"

"So all that tentacles just protect the brain?"

She shrugged. "Dunno. Hit the brain, snuff the git, I suppose. Now do your stuff."

Quickly praying that her aim was true, she released the bow. Her Spirit Arrow arced toward it's target, glowing a brilliant, almost blinding blue.

The arrow pierced through the tiny, raisin-sized brain, and everything stopped. The wriggling ball of tentacles seemed to freeze up, as if it had been Petrified. Then, with a loud, dying groan, it pitched forward. Right onto Inuyasha, who swore loudly and leapt out of the way.

"Sorry about that!" Kagome called out apologetically as Jessica deposited her onto the ground, quite glad to have her Firebolt working normally again.

She, for one, was just happy to touch land. There was just something not…safe about sitting on a something that was practically a pole, and being suspended fifty feet above the ground on it.

"Well!" Kagome said happily, ironing out the back of her robes that had been bunched up against her quiver of arrows. "That takes care of it."

Inuyasha, roughened around the edges, simply grunted, and moved to inspect the thing. "Damn fucker worked us over," he muttered idly. "Even without the Shikon Shards." Satisfied that it was really dead, he slid his Tetsusaiga back into it's sheath.

"Inuyasha's right," Sango said as she and Miroku got off Kirara. "It seems like the youkai are getting stronger these days, and they didn't even have shards in them."

"No," Miroku said thoughtfully. "Not stronger. More aggressive."

"More aggressive?" Kagome echoed, brows knitting in confusion. Youkai, as far as she knew, were much more aggressive than a charging Hippogriff, so what Miroku said didn't make sense, did it? They'd always been like that, and she said as much.

Miroku shook his head. "They're more desperate. Did you notice it, Inuyasha? They were…angrier, driven by something."

"Or controlled by something," Sango said darkly, her mind switching immediately to the evil bastard Naraku.

"But he'd normally stick Shikon Shards in them, right?" Jessica asked, puzzled. She shrank her broomstick so that it became the size of a toothpick, then slipped it into the pocket which she had kept carefully clear for it. "And he'd have those insect things watching, right?"

Inuyasha's scowl turned even more thunderous. Just thinking about the bastard pissed him off to greater heights. What the fuck was he planning now? Some bizarre, twisted crap to make himself even stronger? "Let's go," he growled, the drive to find Naraku and hack the little shit into tiny pieces stronger than ever. "We ain't doing nothing here talking about it."

"He's right," Shippou chirped, a little annoyed at being left out of the conversation, and a little unnerved at the way the dark forest seemed to close around them. "Let's go! This place gives me the creeps."

Jessica sighed as Kagome climbed on Inuyasha's back. "You couldn't have told me we were going to travel fast _before _I shrank my broomstick?"

"You need a bigger brain too, wench."

"Don't make me hex you."

…

Miles away from the shard hunters, deep in the heart of a forest that had been abandoned by the world, a snake youkai dozed. Serpentine forms writhed all around him, silent guards of his territory. He lay comfortably; there was nothing to fear, not when the thing most feared was he himself. No human or demon had dared to step foot in his Forest, for none could survive his ever-obedient, ever-faithful slaves, nor his bloodthirsty subjects that roamed his territory freely.

__

"Masssster," a soft voice hissed from within the shadows, quiet and reverent. _"He issss here."_

Excellent, he thought, pleased. It was just as he had expected.

Without opening his eyes, the snake youkai nodded curtly. _"Send him."_

Softly, as if he, too, was a mere shadow himself, a pale faced man sidled into his view. Inky midnight tresses tumbled down broad shoulders, and he was dressed in fine battle regalia, with enormous, dangerous-looking armor that adorned him. A large, crimson eye opened down his front, with two smaller ones on the backs of his hands. The snake youkai, of course, did not miss the aura of deadly danger and death that surrounded him. A welcome scent, in fact. Not unlike the scent that hung here constantly.

A properly menacing person, indeed.

"Lord Nagini." The half-breed's voice was as smooth as the finest of silks, and just as beguiling. Nagini knew him as Naraku, the bloodthirsty, greedy, filthy little half-breed who had, by his endless manipulations and insidious plots managed to strike terror into even the most evil and murderous of youkai.

All of them fell to the half-breed, save for his own.

Nagini observed him lazily; his obeisant servants had cleared a small path for Naraku at his silent command. Unafraid of Naraku, they watched with keen, diamond eyes, ready to strike lest he made a move against their lord and master. "Why have you sought me again, Naraku?"

The half-breed's deep crimson eyes narrowed momentarily at the deliberate slight. The Serpent King was obviously not in the least impressed with his…accomplishments. A foolish thing, surely. He had grown considerably in strength during the past twenty-seven years, and Naraku regretted not slaying him when he'd had the chance. Or, at the very least, consumed him. It seemed as if Naraku had underestimated him. The Serpent King had proven to be a very formidable foe, indeed.

He had learnt that the hard way.

It seemed like Lord Nagini had a mysterious power source somewhere, something that empowered him, that killed with only a glance, and another, with curiously hooded, skeletal demons that floated and sucked the life out of his demons, leaving them as soulless carcasses that were of no use to anyone. No one had yet set their eyes on those demons' faces and lived to tell the tale.

Kohaku, renowned for his stealth skills, had been sent to find out what that mysterious source was, but when he returned, he had been half mad, driven to the brink of insanity by what seemed like excruciating torture. Whoever it was had also ripped away the shroud that hid Kohaku's terrible past from him. The one thing that Naraku would always erase so he would remain obedient, and to make sure that he did not know too much. Naraku had tried to sift more out of the boy, but his mind was blank, save for only one, recurring thought that seemed to be meant only for him.

__

Cross not the Dark Lord.

Naraku had tried to probe further, to see what it was the boy had seen, but his way had been blocked. The damned serpent had broken through _all _his memory spells, sucked out all the information on Naraku, and had placed another, unbreakable one to mock him.

It had left him seething. The Serpent King had wiped out legions upon legions of his armies without losing even one of his own, and now this. He had been tempted to get rid of the boy once and for all, but he still needed him to distract the beautiful demon exterminator, and so had allowed him to live, modifying his memory once more.

And he remembered the two girls, the young, oddly garbed ones who travelled with Inuyasha, the monk, and the demon exterminator. One was a miko with an oddly uncanny resemblance to Kikyou, and the other was not worth mentioning or even remembering, if not for the fact that she was particularly adept in sorcery, and zipped around on a broom.

Whenever they fought off demons, he had noted that they relied on sorcery; odd, completely unpredictable spells. Their spells were paltry compared to his own, but they were completely foreign, and had taken him by surprise more than once, leaving him vulnerable to Inuyasha's deadly attacks.

Together, the Inuyasha group was formidable

Although his current barrier prevented their attacks, Inuyasha's _Kongousouha _shattered it as if it was glass. And once that barrier is gone, there was no telling what either girl would be able to do, especially the miko Kagome. In that vein, they were every bit a threat to him as Lord Nagini or the Lord of the Western Lands, Sesshoumaru was.

Therefore, he had decided that he would need assistance in the form of an alliance. If the Serpent King agreed to the alliance, he would provide the much required distraction, and in that, Naraku could learn of Lord Nagini's weakness, and proceed to consume both him and the mysterious source.

He would truly become invincible.

"I seek an…alliance, if you will."

Nagini looked bored. "Now why would I want to do that?"

It was his turn to smile; a cold, calculating lift of thin lips that fooled no one. "You seek the throne to the Northern Lands, do you not?"

"What is it to you?"

"I can provide assistance. Your way to the throne will be much easier."

Nagini eyed him shrewdly, considering his options. He was prideful, but he was no fool. There would be no wisdom in turning away offered help.

__

You will take it, a cold, high-pitched voice whispered into his consciousness. _He will be useful to us._

"What is your price?"

"I will need your assistance in turn," Naraku replied smoothly. He did not step any closer; there was black danger just beyond Nagini, something filled with the purest of malice, evil, and hate. It was so potent and so striking he could almost taste it. "I require your indestructible servants to deal with our…problems."

Nagini shuddered slightly as laughter resounded in his mind, full of scorn and dark amusement. _Indestructible to a detested, filthy demon like him._

"Our?"

"Inuyasha and his group of little friends pose a danger to you too, do they not?" he inquired sleekly, deep ruby eyes knowing.

Anger. He felt deep, dark anger stirring at the name. Naraku, his curiosity aroused, tried once more to look into the impenetrable, alluring darkness that seethed just beyond the Serpent King. Was that where the lord of the Serpent King lay?

"You will do well not to look upon the darkness." Nagini responded, not wishing to answer the previous question. His master's fury was proof enough. He hated the group with a vengeance. Or rather, a particular person in the group. Time and time again, his vengeance had been thwarted by the damnable dog hanyou, and his thirst for the blood of his murderer rejected by uncanny strokes of luck that trailed his prey like it did her father—the sole reason why his master was very much alive, and very much fueled by the desire to destroy everything he touched.

Other than that, he knew not what his master had planned for, but it was enough for him. He was the servant; he would not demand.

He would obey, in payment for being saved.

In fact, Nagini had attempted to destroy the girl a few times, but had failed miserably, having fallen to the merciless blade of the Tetsusaiga. Yet that had not been the worst.

He would not soon forget his master's displeasure at his failures.

Perhaps, if this Naraku could dispose of Inuyasha for his Lord, leaving Harry Potter's blood child for the Dark Lord to deal with as he wished…

__

He will do, the icy voice hissed once more, sounding darkly pleased.

Nagini watched as the dark hanyou's eyes narrowed, then finally nodded, dulcet tones not revealing any of his thoughts. "Very well. Are we to have an alliance, then?"

And the most uncomfortable feeling crept over him. All of a sudden, it seemed like someone was actually _looking _into his mind. Someone, something that crept through, twisted around him like a serpent, searching, looking…

Snarling under his breath, he sought to close his mind. There was a power there, power unlike anything he had ever seen or beheld, and that power pushed against him, threatening him.

__

Know me as the Dark Lord Voldemort. A cold voice hissed through his mind even as the dark hanyou fought to throw him out. He had been mildly disoriented at the beginning; he had never once been the victim, only the aggressor, and now that he was on the other end of the spectrum, he was really, really angry, indeed. _Very well, we will have an alliance. I will know if you lie, Naraku. No one can close their mind to me._

With yet another guttural snarl, Naraku forced the filthy presence out of his mind, his rage threatening to take him over.

No one, NO ONE, treated him like that!

High-pitched laughter whispered through his consciousness, and he seethed. Yet in his fury, a tingle of apprehension remained. Who was this Lord Voldemort? Where had he come from? What kind of terrible power did he possess? How could Naraku, himself, possess it?

__

Know me, the high-pitched, merciless voice continued, almost singing. _Know me, and fear me, like all will when I finally reveal myself._

And the entire forest hissed its acquiescence.

…

The great Lord of the Western Lands watched idly as Rin played an exuberant game of tag with Jaken. The imp in question looked like he'd been dragged through all seven hells. Which, he supposed, wasn't too unlikely. Rin was a tiny bundle of energy, and as much as he hated to admit it, he liked watching her gambol around. She was so full of life and laughter, so much so that he had developed something very much like a soft spot for her. She had merely been an experiment at first, but gradually, the little girl had grown into something much, much more.

He shifted, uncomfortable with the sudden surge of affection he felt for the chit. He had spent hundreds of years in a mixture of simmering resentment, bitterness, and hard cold ambition. His capacity for feelings had dissipated long ago. Emotions were weaknesses, he could remember Mother saying, in a tone touched by ice. _Emotions are what will kill you._

And as the Lord of the Dogs, he could not afford it. His father possessed them in abundance, and look at what happened to him.

"Come catch me, Jaken-sama! Come catch me!" Rin sang, scampering away from his agitated retainer. Momentarily distracted from his thoughts, he mused lazily that it was amusing watching the imp get run into the ground by someone barely taller than he was.

Closing his eyes, the demon lord felt the slightest of twinges against his consciousness. Calmly, he started. "I see your stealth skills are severely lacking even after all these years, Sei."

The bushes barely rustled as a young woman stepped out, serpentine emerald eyes lit up in amusement. Away from them, Rin and Jaken paused, eyes on the intruder. She was dressed unlike any woman any had ever seen before. Well, Jaken supposed that it was a woman. Even under all the drab clothes—if rags like that could be called clothes—and the strange way they were strapped around her, the figure was unmistakable.

"I see your sunny disposition has not changed even after all these years, Sesshoumaru."

He eyed her coolly, but the minute relaxation in his posture did not go unnoticed by Jaken. Obviously his Lord and this dirty-looking woman were…acquaintances. He was curious. No one spoke to his Lord so and lived to get away with it, but this one…

"It's been a while."

She smiled. "It has, hasn't it? I see the years have been kind to you."

"Why are you here?" He asked impassively, as her curious eyes roved over his young charge and retainer.

"A human girl?" Sei mused, conveniently avoiding his question. "I never knew you were the type, Sessh. I'd pegged your brother for the human-loving type."

Jaken almost choked. Sessh? _Sessh! _The filthy, impudent wench had deigned to call his master by that—that name!

He could not keep quiet anymore. "Impudent wench!" he screeched, waving his nintoujou at her. "Filthy snake demon! Show some—"

"Jaken," Sesshoumaru said lazily, unaffected in the least. He had been used to that nickname ever since he was a pup, and since she had been the closest thing to a friend that he had in his whole life, he was quite willing to overlook it. That and the fact that she had just mentioned his damnable half-brother in front of him. "Shut up."

Sei was impressed. "He's got quite a mouth on him."

"You did not answer my question."

The corner of her lips pulled up in a half-hearted smile. "Tenacious as ever, aren't you?"

It did not escape his notice that her hand had subconsciously moved to brush against the hilt of her sword. The sword of her forefathers.

The sword that shamed her bloodline.

He wondered how she had acquired it, but did not ask. "You are holding your father's sword."

"It's a good sword," Sei said, a little defensively. "Though it's last holder was known for it's cowardice, there had been a magnificent lineage before it."

He tilted his head ever so slightly, watching her. "You will take back the throne, then?"

A shadow crossed her eyes. "My answer does not change, Sessh. I am not fit to take over, not after what my Father did. Besides, they are prospering. What right do I have to change that?"

He was silent. Finally, he said. "He is still alive."

She simply nodded, eyes hardening. "Which is why I'm hunting him. I have not forgotten what he had done to Mother and I. Nor have I forgiven."

It was just as he had expected. The hundreds of years had done nothing to dispel the hate and darkness she held deep within her heart. Sesshoumaru, though bitter and resentful, allowed none of it to rule him, carefully mastering it, crafting it into a formidable weapon that placed everyone at arm's length. Sei, however, possessed no such ability. She loved, and she hated, with equal passion. Perhaps the hate a little more so now.

"Then you should be on your way."

A brief look of hurt flickered in her eyes before it was quickly mastered. Sesshoumaru, however, did not miss it. Nor did he acknowledge it. "Of course. I had thought it would be good to see you again."

He made no reply to that. What, really, had she expected?

With a wry smile, she simply turned to walk away. "I'll be on my way now. See you, Sessh. Perhaps we'll meet again."

"Perhaps," he allowed. She had grown up, he realized. She was no longer the whining, crybaby little child he had been forced to keep company with when he had been a pup, or the headstrong firebrand he had been with when they were adolescents.

"Sesshoumaru-sama!" Rin piped up curiously, watching as Sei disappeared into the trees, melding into them as if she had been a part of them all along. "Sesshoumaru-sama, who is she?"

Beside her, Jaken sputtered to life, trying to get his mind over the fact that his lord had just had an entire, civil conversation with someone. "What a rude, filthy de—"

Sesshoumaru stared at him evenly, effectively cutting him off. "Surely you, Jaken, would recognize the markings on her face?"

Jaken looked like he'd been stuffed in the throat with a particularly smelly sock. "I—I—she—" Then, realizing that he might have displeased his master by not knowing, threw himself face-first onto the ground, babbling incoherently about his foolishness and how he hoped Sesshoumaru would not be displeased.

Dismissing him, Sesshoumaru got to his feet gracefully, casting yet another brief look in the direction where the beautiful demoness had disappeared.

Jaken was still babbling.

"Fool," Sesshoumaru cut in smoothly as he stepped over the idiot. "You have just looked upon the exiled Princess of the Northern Lands."

Jaken gaped, yellow bulbous eyes bulging. "N-Northern Lands?" Ever since he had followed Sesshoumaru, he had diligently done research on his lord's history to know more about him. The Northern Lands were the greatest allies of the Western Lands. Unfortunately, a weak king had taken the throne a little more than seven hundred years ago. An attack soon followed, the king had abandoned his place, offered his wife and daughter to the enemy, and had disappeared. Sesshoumaru's father, the Inu no Taisho, had plunged into the chaos to save both the wife and daughter and had destroyed the enemy.

But the city could not survive without a king, the Queen and the Princess were in no shape to rule, and so the general of the land, a kind and good leader, had moved forward to serve the land. It had taken years to end the chaos, and in that time, the Queen and the Princess had disappeared.

"They sought refuge in your lands, my lord?" he questioned.

Sesshoumaru eyed him coolly. "We will never abandon our allies. Especially women and children."

"And that—that was the Princess?" It was the farthest thing from a princess Jaken had ever seen. She looked filthy, unkempt, and utterly indecent. And the way she spoke…he winced. Surely his lord must have made a mistake…

Sesshoumaru didn't bother to reply to that question. "You will treat her with respect, Jaken. Do not shame my household."

Jaken prostrated before Sesshoumaru once more, the stony tone laced in his words were a subtle enough warning. "Yes, Sesshoumaru-sama! Forgive this Jaken his transgressions!"

And off he went again.

Sesshoumaru ignored him once more, cutting through his babbling. "Jaken, fetch Ah-Un. Rin, we're going."

"Yes, Sesshoumaru-sama!" Rin cheered as she followed eagerly after her stoic guardian, bursting with endless questions. "Sesshoumaru-sama, what is 'exiled princess'? Where is the Northern Lands? Is it nice?"

"Sesshoumaru-sama," Jaken squawked, panicked at seeing that the two of them were going to leave without him. Yanking desperately on Ah-Un's leash, he struggled to try to keep up with them. "Sesshoumaru-sama, Rin, _waaaaaaaitttt!" _

…

Jessica looked down at her deluxe box of Weasley's Wildfire Whiz-bangs mournfully—one of the things she had insisted on paying for—and sighed. A gusty, morose sigh that made one wonder if anyone had died.

Shippou looked extremely apologetic, and had conveyed that message verbally too. He'd received a stern talking-to from Kagome, too. Man, he shouldn't have nicked that box and set off half of them! A stray sparkler floated lazily above them, spelling out something that Kagome knew Jessica's mother would no doubt send her a Howler for, if she ever saw it.

A few others zipped past, and Kagome ducked a stray pink rocket that seemed to have a particular fascination with her head. Inuyasha stared up at them, instantly captivated.

"It was ten Galleons worth of fireworks you just wasted," Jessica told Shippou. She'd planned a much better use for it, but then again… Silver and gold piglets were dancing around a clump of bushes, catching her attention.

Shippou looked close to tears. "I said I was sorry, Jessica! I shouldn't have taken them without your permission, but they were so pretty—and—and—"

Alarmed at the look on Shippou's face, Jessica hastily said, "It's OK, Shippou. Really. I suppose I'll have a reason to ask for my next raise in allowance." A tiny dragon breathed fire from above them before zipping away to disturb the pigs, who disbanded in a panic and promptly set fire to a nearby bush. Kagome sighed and put the fire out with a wave of her wand.

"Excellent," Jessica said, a wicked gleam in her eye. Suddenly feeling generous at seeing how well the fireworks had turned out, she gave him the entire box. Obviously Uncle Fred and Uncle George had refined them once more. "Here. You can have these. I'll need a brand new box of them, anyway."

It didn't take a genius to see the thoughts whirring in her head, browsing through the multitude of pranks that were just itching to be played.

On hearing this, Kagome turned on her friend suspiciously. "You're going to set them off in Professor Trelawney's class again, aren't you?"

It had been a complete success when it happened three years ago. Fireworks were going off everywhere, knocking over and setting fire to things, including all of Professor Trelawney's floaty-looking scarves. The students, roused from their drowsiness had all escaped from the tower in seconds even as the multitude of fireworks spread from there to the entire castle. It had taken all the teachers to get rid of them. And ironically, for all the Inner Eyes Trelawney said she possessed, she couldn't even identify the perpetrators, which amused the fun-loving trio very much.

They were less amused, however, when Professor McGonagall threw them into detention for an entire month nonetheless. Sometimes the woman was just too smart.

Jessica looked utmostly offended. "Kagome, Tim and Pete were the ones who set an entire box of them off!" At her fierce glare, she wilted a little. "And I uh…helped. A little. A very little!"

Miroku, who was watching the two of them with interest, simply smirked and shook his head at Jessica. He was sporting a very distinct handprint on his cheek. Sango, scowling—though anyone could see that she was secretly pleased—flounced over to where Kagome was still fixing an innocent, wide-eyed Jessica the evil eye.

"Oh all right," Jessica muttered, looking as if saying it was actually causing her physical pain. "I promise I won't set them off in classes."

After those darned fireworks tried to set fire to his face for the third time, an irritated Inuyasha stomped over to them. "We've sat around long enough. Can we get going _now_?"

Kagome regarded him dryly and ducked the same rocket once again. "We weren't the ones who simply could not stop looking at the fireworks."

He flushed, then with a simple "Keh!" he turned and headed away. "Come on, we've got to get going if you don't want to spend another night in a forest!"

…

"Pursuing futile dreams still, my dear?"

Sei froze in her tracks, remembering the silken voice all too well. It was a mark of his greatly increased powers that she had not sensed him coming up behind her till now.

"Naraku." She all but spat out, turning to face him. He stood before her, resplendent in all his dark glory. Even after all these years, he was still as handsome as she had remembered. Handsome, and utterly evil.

"Now, now," he admonished sleekly, crimson eyes glowing with undisguised amusement. "Is this how you greet an old lover?"

****

AN: Terribly sorry for the cliffhanger, heh. I know I'm evil. You know, I've always wondered how Voldemort and Naraku would play against each other. Strangely enough, that was the part I had the most fun with.

Anyway, please tell me what you think of this story! This story will be pretty plot-heavy in the next few chapters. And anyway, Ffnet banned review responses, but screw them anyway. I like responding to reviewers. It speaks manners.

Blood-Debt: Hee, you've got to walk past the portrait of Barnabas the Barmy three times and think real hard on the room that you need. It's in there, I think…

****

TheThornBird: LOL I will, thanks a lot!

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DarkAngelPearl: LOL yeah, I bet Miroku will kill all the girls. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, too!


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